Depression Rx

People who ask their doctors for antidepressants get better evaluations for mood disorders than people who simply report symptoms of depression. A study revealed that when patients requested antidepressants, primary-care doctors screened them more thoroughly for depression (asking more often about suicidal thoughts, for example). Overall, 98 percent of seemingly depressed patients who requested "an antidepressant" and 90 percent who asked for one by brand received what the researchers believed to be a baseline of acceptable care (any combination of medication, mental-health referral, and a follow-up visit). That was in contrast to 56 percent of those with signs of depression who did not ask for drugs. However, says Mitchell D. Feldman, an internist at the University of California-San Francisco, the drug requesters were also more likely to get a prescription "even if it was not medically indicated."